Lee Claimed Off Waivers

According to a report from CBSSports.com, a team has claimed Cliff Lee off waivers. Ruben Amaro Jr. said earlier today that Lee is “not going anywhere.”

But that doesn’t mean the Phillies won’t try – or haven’t tried – to deal him. The Phillies could ask for a team to take on all of his salary and several other players in return, and when the two sides could not come to terms on an agreement, the Phillies pull him. Otherwise, Lee can just be handed to the claiming team with his entire salary. There is no word if he has technically been pulled from waivers. But the CBS report from Jon Heyman says the Phillies have three days to attempt to work something out.

If you’re in the business of believing Amaro, then Lee was never a threat to leave. He’s probably just feeling it out to see if they get an offer they could not refuse. Lee also has a no-trade clause in his contract, so even if the Phillies came to some sort of an agreement with another team, if he was on that list, Lee has the right to shut it down. This is common practice among MLB teams, don’t forget.